1. Technical Field
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to technology for managing a profile of an eUICC, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for backing up a profile of an eUICC in a repository.
2. Related Art
A UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) is a smart card that can be used as a module for user authentication that is inserted into a terminal. The UICC may store personal information of a user and operator information for a mobile network operator to which the user has subscribed. For example, the UICC may include IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) for identifying a user.
Further, a UICC may be called a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card when using a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) scheme. The UICC may be called a USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module) card when using a WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) scheme.
When a user mounts a UICC on a terminal of the user, user authentication is automatically performed using information stored in the UICC, enabling the user to conveniently use the terminal. Further, when the user replaces an existing terminal, the user can easily replace the terminal by mounting a UICC detached from the existing terminal on a new terminal.
Meanwhile, it is difficult to miniaturize a terminal requiring miniaturization, such as a terminal for machine to machine (M2M) communication, when the terminal is manufactured with a structure in which a UICC is capable of being attached or detached. Accordingly, an embedded UICC (eUICC) structure in which an UICC is incapable of being attached or detached has been proposed.
An existing UICC is capable of being attached to or detached from a terminal, enabling a user to open the terminal regardless of a type of the terminal and a mobile network operator. However, IMSI in the eUICC is allowed to be allocated only when a UICC embedded upon manufacturing a terminal should be used for only a specific mobile network operator. Accordingly, information (e.g., IMSI) of a user of a UICC must be installed in the eUICC using a method such as downloading, for tasks such as ordering, opening and terminating for the terminal.
In other words, an existing UICC is capable of being attached to or detached from a terminal. Accordingly, when a terminal is replaced, personal information of a user and information of an operator to which the user has subscribed can be moved to a new device by detaching and inserting the UICC. However, in the case of an eUICC, it is difficult to move personal information of an existing user and information of an operator to another device, or bring the personal information of the user and the information of the operator from another device, due to physical properties of the eUICC.